tening to several post-tonal compositions. This activity and resulting discussion sensitized students’ ears to the many compositional choices available. DeLorenzo asked students to record their data melodies using GarageBand and develop their compositions using contrasting tim- bres and digital audio loops. After students shared their compositions, DeLorenzo posed the following question: “In what ways could we use these pieces to acknowledge the ravages of climate change to the public? Otherwise we can’t become change agents.” Students discussed an increased awareness of their agency in reversing the ef- fects of climate change and helping those most affected. DeLorenzo revealed her planning process to her students and modeled how they might similarly design lessons. In an after-class discussion with me, DeLorenzo


acknowledged that sometimes her students struggle to grasp the abstract concepts at play when teaching music through social justice lenses, especially the socio-cultur- al implications of teaching music history. To help, she places “emphasis on the depth of teaching [in] a social justice context. Those are the tools of my trade. It really doesn’t matter what I would be teaching. Any strategy would have some of those elements.” She thought for a moment, then said, “It looks like I’m teaching only one thing, but I’m really teaching many things.”


A Cascade of Questions


Like DeLorenzo, it may have looked like I was teach- ing only one thing in my secondary ensembles, but I was teaching many, i.e., critical reflection and demo- cratic methods for student-led repertoire selection and rehearsal design. When I shared these tools of my trade with DeLorenzo, our mutual interest in teacher educa- tion reform emerged in a cascade of questions: “How do we introduce unfamiliar methodologies to our preservice teachers without being considered ivory-towered?” I con- tinued, “How will our students innovate if they don’t see their mentors innovate first?” DeLorenzo responded with more questions: “Do I prepare my students to assimilate into a public-school system, or do I prepare them to have problems with material they teach?” She clarified that her students’ methodologies may not synchronize with ad- ministrator or parent expectations. Distilling these ques- tions, I asked, “How do music teacher educators prepare preservice teachers to meet reasonable public-school ex- pectations and respond to problems with grace, empathy,


TEMPO 34


and innovation?” According to DeLorenzo, teacher edu- cators are responsible for sharing high-quality, innova- tive content and pedagogies with students. Some content will be unfamiliar, but generally, music teacher educators present content that students understand or will learn in a comprehensive musicianship course. “I'm not teaching them music,” she explained, “I’m teaching them peda- gogy.” Teacher educators should model how to plan mu- sic making experiences that invite practical application of content, e.g., when DeLorenzo’s students developed their climate change data melodies with digital audio loops.


How Do We Know If We’re Successful? DeLorenzo’s course culminates with an intensive


project: student pairs co-design three sequential music composition lessons through one social justice lens (e.g., poverty, ecology, war, protest, or spirituality). Her stu- dents show growth when they collaborate and ask criti- cal, thought-provoking questions. She evaluates student work carefully: “I don't ever want to give them a grade without saying why, what I liked, how much I appreci- ated the work they did.” She emphasizes written com- ments saying, “I feel if they put their time and effort into it, that's what they deserve.” DeLorenzo evaluated the 20-year trajectory of her


general music methods courses and acknowledged that inquiry- and project-based methods were always central, but when she first began her university teaching, the themes for units were more traditional, e.g., composers, historical periods, and compositional techniques. She credits her colleague Dr. Marissa Silverman for the tran- sition to social justice themes in the methods courses. She hopes that her students embrace the idea that his- tory classrooms are not the only spaces for social justice themes. She finished saying, “Musicians are a huge part of the social justice movement [on] many different issues. I think that is fascinating, and I would think they would find that fascinating too.”


Afterthoughts


At the end of the semester, the students had created a brilliant collection of lesson plans intertwined with so- cial justice. DeLorenzo inspired me to infuse my practice with inclusive, culturally responsive methods including thoughtful selection of materials, teaching partners, and


MARCH 2021


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